Well...Is it perhaps the home of one of the early governors of Virginia who happened to come from the Netherlands? History was not my forte! BTW, I would love to live in a house just like that one!Happy WW!

Gorgeous building - I have a half a guess for you - built by some famous early american that had come from the netherlands? Must find my thinking cap and see if I can do better than that! LOL Happy WW, I played too.

Is this the house of John Holland?That's the best I can do at the moment, and in that I live in The Netherlands at the moment, I am a little bit embarrassed that I know not of this news you speak. Hmmmm... You are right, I will have to come back to get some education on it!

Oh, and the answer to your question over at my place. International Public Law with specialization in International Criminal Law. The Netherlands (specifically Leiden) was the best place to study for its proximity to The Hague, which is the center for the International Criminal Courts. There are several set up here, and this is the field he wanted to break into. So that is what brought us across the ocean.Cheers!

The only connection to the recent news from Holland is that Adam Thoroughgood passed away at the young age of 36. Recently, a organ donation show was broadcast at national Dutch TV, in which a terminally ill woman decided to whom to give her kidney. She was also 36 years old (in the end, it turned out that the show was a hoax in order to get more attention for the enormous waiting lists for organ donation).

Adam Thoroughgood was a seventh son of a prominent family in England. Obviously, he wasn't going to inherit much, so he indentured himself for three years to pay for his passage and learn the tobacco trade. He ended up owning land and starting a tobacco farm. He never owned slaves; he had two African indentured servants who worked out their contracts.

Now I have to make the connection for the invitation to 'cross the pond'.

I can also think about finance since the Dutch really were the ones to start a stock exchange and bring Capitalism to the world - and New World.

This is taking me all the back to the history surrounding where my family lives in Westmoreland County, VA as well as Gloucester, where we have a summer home - but that's not what you're looking for!

What I found was this: Adam Thoroughgood (also Thorowgood) was was a member of the House of Burgesses in Jamestown in 1629 and later on the King's Council.

He must have been very influential (he and his wife were of distinguished families) since he did convince people to immigrate. One of the most important was Augustine Warner, who was to become a neighbor and also influential in the colony.

Augustine Warner I was born on November 28, 1610 in Norwich, England. He was one of the first Virginia Immigrants to sail to the New World under Captain Adam Thouroughgood in 1628

Thoroughgood was a Captain of the militia but owned ships that brought immigrants to Virginia including 105 indentured servants.

Norfolk was named by him as well as Lynnhaven, after all, he was born in King's Lynn in Norfolk England!

Now here is where it gets interesting:

Captain Warner also became a member of the King's Council of the Royal Governor of Virginia until his death. He was also Speaker of the House. This included being Justice and Burgess of York and Gloucester Counties between 1652 and 1658. This enabled him to advise the Governor on many important matters. He was named Speaker of the House and known as Speaker Warner at this time. He became Captain of the Virginia Militia and received commission from the Governor "Gentlemen." (Warner and Thoroughgood must have been good friends.)

Warner aided the Dutch with the attacks on the Virginia Fleet of Hampton Roads. (this actually confounds me and I'll have to pursue this later. (A result of the first Anglo Dutch War which concerned free trade).

Warner was the great grandfather of George Washington!

So without Thoroughgood, George Washington would never have been born!

the Dutch were ever present as privateers and the Dutch and English were always at odds with one another.

I can't make the connections to Thoroughgood's ships or family during the Anglo Dutch War(s).

A last try before you will hopefully help us out :) Just as Thoroughgood, the Dutch promoted immigration to new areas. Killian van Rensselaer for example invited immigrants to settle in areas such as Albany and Columbia. Thoroughwood did the same by settling Virginia Beach and inviting people to come along with him.

The Dutch did a lot of trading with us (Virginians) and Delft tiles and crockery can be found all over the place.)

Also the type of brickwork on most Virginia Tidewater homes was Flemish Bond. Alternating headers and stretchers. The headers usually were kept closest to the heat so that the sand in the clay would melt bringing a dark blue glassy exterior to the brick. Quite lovely.

I don't get up until about noon, so morning TV is definitely out! (No, I'm not lazy, I just work to 2AM because of time difference between my clients!)

Actually only one side of the Thoroughgood house was Flemish bond...the other three were English.

Items in the house from the early 18th century connect to a news story concerning a certain fact recently discovered in the 21st regarding statistics that have been kept over the years. The items in the house are an indicator of those statistics.

George Washington was 6'2" and his bed/deathbed was 6'x6 1/2" as opposed to the small homes, beds and low ceilings of early colonists. In two generations the standard of living and nutrition made Americans taller and healthier.